In pictures, Saudi women drive the "Haramain train" to transport pilgrims between Mecca and Medina
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Saudi Tharaa Ali sits in the driver's seat of a high-speed train that carries pilgrims to Mecca, benefiting from the kingdom's efforts to boost its economic growth, to provide jobs for the growing number of Saudi women who enter the labor market.
Saudi women only got the right to drive in 2018, and until recently, Ali's driving experience was limited to traveling in her family's car in her coastal city of Jeddah.
However, last year she joined the 28,000 women who applied for 32 positions as female drivers of the Haramain Express Train, which travels the 450 km distance between Mecca and Medina at a speed of 300 km per hour.
The former English teacher was among the lucky few to be chosen, completing her maiden flight last month.
"The first day at work and entering the train and the cockpit was like a dream," she told AFP.
And she continued, "When you are in the cabin, you see things heading towards you at a very high speed. I had a little sense of fear and dread, but thank God, with the days and intense training, I became confident in myself."
The driver, Raneem Azouz, told AFP that one of the female passengers confessed to her at the end of one of the trips to the city that she did not believe that women could take on this task until she saw it with her own eyes.
Azouz added, "She told me frankly, when I saw the advertisement (about jobs), I was totally against it. I used to say that if my daughter would drive (the train), I would not ride with her."
After arriving at her destination safely, the passenger assured Azzouz that she had "proved herself" and told her that she "didn't feel any difference."
Executive Vice President of the Saudi Railways Company, Rayan Al-Harbi, says that the female drivers are "highly qualified and have proven their worth during training."
He believes, "This is proof that Saudi women have full capacity when empowered to perform tasks like men."
As new drivers establish themselves in their jobs, they focus on positive feedback that makes them feel "happy and excited", such as passengers asking to take selfies with them at the end of each trip.
Ali says, "Every time I finish my trip, I get off the train and find the passengers greeting me and saying thank you, thank God for safety."
"They thank me because the trip was smooth," she says.
Saudi women used to work and achieve success in several fields such as education and medicine.
However, the measures taken in recent years have opened up new opportunities.
This includes jobs in the hotel and restaurant sector such as waiters and receptionists, jobs that were previously dominated by foreigners, which strengthened the "Saudization" policy that the government has been adopting for many years and has recently increased.
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